Jailing of Dublin rapist sees surge in rape survivors sharing their stories

Raymond Shorten, of Melrose Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, is serving 30 years for his sexual offending.

High-profile rape cases including that of Dublin taxi driver Raymond Shorten have prompted survivors of sexual abuse to share their stories for the first time on a website set up by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Since the We Speak website was established in June 2023, more than 60 survivors of abuse have shared their stories anonymously on the site.

Sarah Monaghan, who is We Consent manager at the DRCC, said that stories were typically shared to the site at a rate of 1 to 2 per week.

But she said that following the conviction of Raymond Shorten for the separate rapes of two women, the rate of stories from survivors increased.

She said: "We saw a surge of stories of 6 or 7 in one week after Shorten's case."

In July, Shorten was sentenced to 17 years in jail for the rape of two young passengers in the back of his taxi on separate nights two years ago. This was on top of a 13-year sentence imposed just days earlier for the rape of a girl twice when she was seven or eight years old more than a decade ago.

Ms Monaghan said that the decision by Blathnaid Raleigh to waive her anonymity after Jonathan Moran, from Tower View, Mullingar in Co Westmeath, was jailed for eight years for raping her with a bottle in Galway in July 2019, has also prompted people to share their story.

Ms Monaghan also noted that confidence has been given to survivors of all crimes too following Natasha O’Brien speaking out after then soldier Cathal Crotty was given a suspended three year sentence for assaulting her in Limerick city.

She said: “The women in these cases spoke openly and I think it is important and a brave thing for these women to do and it gives a certain amount of strength to others to speak out. Even if it is in an anonymous way, it is still important because it is reclaiming your story, your experience.” 

Contributors

While the website only accepts anonymous stories, it is intended to empower survivors of sexual violence and provide them with a safe alternative to social media to tell their story.

She added: "We redact anything identifiable."

She explained that the majority of those sharing their story to the site mention they have never told anyone before about being attacked.

She continued: "It is not for everyone to go to gardaí or therapy, or they may not have someone they can tell."

She said some of the contributors did not fully understand that their own experience was sexual assault until they visited the site and read the experiences of others.

“Reading other people’s experiences which are very similar to their own really helps them to join those dots and acknowledge that feeling of knowing that what happened to them was not right.” 

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The DRCC is hoping that use of the We Speak platform by survivors will continue to grow.

“We have a huge amount of visitors to the site as well – people will visit and read stories which is extremely important because they can learn about people’s experiences," said Ms Monaghan. 

"It is equally important because people are inclined to have a very black and white version of what they think sexual violence is when actually it comes in so many different forms and happens in so many different circumstances.” 

The website can be accessed at www.wespeak.ie.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.